Transforming Learning

High School Principal, Ben Johnson, believes that iPads have the capability to transform learning. In an article in edutopia, he offers scenarios of how iPads could be used effectively in classrooms. These include a geometry lesson that challenges students to find the “best geometric form for a deep sea submarine”. To complete the assignment, students search for information about pressure, tune in to lectures from experts, use math to discover the most durable form for the sub, work with their peers and teachers, both in–person and through networking, develop simulations, graph and present their results, and share what they learned. Students can accomplish all this and more without textbooks and without apps.  While Johnson believes that there are times when apps and other resources are useful, freeing students to think and create on their own is what will transform learning. According to Johnson, teaching mostly through apps and through control of student learning, “limits the true potential of the iPad.”